Speaking on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, we talk to Jacobin Germany's Loren Balhorn about the recent election results in Saxony-Anhalt (and the rise of the AfD more broadly) and the increasing militarization of German society—as well as the linkages between the two. We also discuss Die Linke's response to the rise of the right, what's going on with BSW, Germany's shifting relations with the US, and the ongoing echoes of the Global War on Terror in German politics and culture.

Read Loren's piece on Die Linke here: https://jacobin.com/2026/06/germany-die-linke-congress-strategy

Read Jacobin's interview with Ines Schwerdtner here: https://jacobin.com/2026/03/die-linke-schwerdtner-class-afd

Support us on Patreon here: patreon.com/spassbremse

We've discussed Germany's relationship with Israel and Palestine from several different angles on the show. How can we sum it all up? To offer his perspective, Prof. Dirk Moses outlines the five elements of what he calls the "German Catechism." He and Ted examine its five elements, how it developed, and the ways in which it has evolved after two years Hamas' October 7th attacks and Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza.

-Visit Dirk's webpage here: https://www.dirkmoses.com/

-Read his "Catechism" essay here: https://geschichtedergegenwart.ch/the-german-catechism/

-Read the "Education after Gaza" piece here: https://blnreview.de/en/ausgaben/2025-09/a-dirk-moses-education-after-gaza-after-education-after-auschwitz

(this was a light edit becuase I wanted to get it out quickly so might be rougher than usual. Will be back soon with the start of the "Why does Germany exist?" series.)

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Why does Germany exist? The question isn't as simple as it might seem. To answer this massive question—and several related ones—Ted is embarking on a multi-part series that explores how Germany came to be, from the Romans to the Reichsbürgerbewegung and Caesar to the CDU. This short episode introduces the series, with about a dozen more to follow!

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What's going on in the corrupt and captivating world of sports? To get an update, Berlin-based journalist Dave Braneck comes back on the pod to discuss the rise of women's football/soccer, various corrupt dealings in the men's game, and why American sports are colonizing Germany.

-Follow Dave here: https://x.com/braneck

-Read Dave's work here: https://www.davebraneck.com/work

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Support us on Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

The politics of memory is everywhere in Germany. To discuss how Germany selectively uses the history of WWII and the Cold War--and how the memories of these events are invoked abroad--Ted speaks with Berlin-based journalist Alexander Wells about the politics surrounding the bombing of Dresden, the DDR and Stasi, and the heroic "dissident." Plus, how Australian tourists in Europe relate to all this.

-Read Alex's pieces on Dresden here, the Stasi here, Aussies in Berlin here, and WWI here.

-Check out his website here: https://sites.google.com/view/ajbwells

-Listen to our past episodes on the "Clean Wehrmacht myth" here, and historical tourism in Berlin here.

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Support us on Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

**UNLOCKED premium episode 40, now available for all listeners. Support us here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse⁠**

Germany's material and rhetorical support of Israel has long been unyielding, even in the face of genocide charges from international organizations and other European countries' growing condemnations of it's conduct in Gaza. However, in the last few weeks, a growing chorus of German politicians and media figures have begun to finally criticism Israel. Is something finally changing?

To answer, Ted speaks to German journalist Hanno Hauenstein (@hahauenstein), a rare media figure with actual expertise in the region and an important voice of reason in Germany's (to date virtually non-existent) Israel debate. They discuss the history of pro-Israel Staatsräson, the radicalization of the concept after October 7, and why the conversation might be now changing.

Read Hanno's Substack here: https://hannohauenstein.substack.com/

Listen to our episode with Daniel Marwecki (which we reference multiple times) here: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/spassbremse/episodes/52---Whitewashing-and-Statebuilding-German-Israeli-relations-wDaniel-Marwecki-e2dgpn5/a-aaovn89

Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider. Edited by Nick.

Support us on Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

**FIRST SPAßBREMSE VIDEO PODCAST**

GroKo is back! But now it's far less "great" than before. To explore what to expect from the new German government, Ted speaks with Astrid Zimmermann (@zimmermann.av) of Jacobin Germany (@jacobinmag_de).

-Watch the first Spaßbremse VIDEO PODCAST here: ⁠https://youtu.be/HdskRf_FmBI⁠

Read her articles here (German): ⁠https://jacobin.de/autoren/astrid-zimmermann⁠

Read her latest piece on GroKo here (in English): ⁠https://jacobin.com/author/astrid-zimmermann⁠

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GroKo is back! But now it's far less "great" than before. To explore what to expect from the new German government, Ted speaks with Astrid Zimmermann (⁠@zimmermann.av⁠) of Jacobin Germany (⁠@jacobinmag_de⁠).

-Watch the first Spaßbremse VIDEO PODCAST here: https://youtu.be/HdskRf_FmBI

Read her articles here (German): https://jacobin.de/autoren/astrid-zimmermann

Read her latest piece on GroKo here (in English): https://jacobin.com/author/astrid-zimmermann

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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider.

Support us on Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

As a follow up to our previous episode on the "fascism debate", writer John Ganz argues for the "yes" side, addressing the points Danny Bessner and other critics have made. He and Ted discuss parallels between the current far right and interwar fascism, suggesting there are important similarities we can learn from.

Listen to part 1 (episode 66) here: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/fjeZVKb9ASb

Buy John's book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374605445/whentheclockbroke/

Read his Substack here: https://www.unpopularfront.news/

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Support us on Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

Over his long career, Friedrich Merz has gone from rising CDU star to Blackrock executive and back to the very top of German politics. To discuss his trajectory—and the country's likely future—Ted speaks with NYC-based journalist Lukas Hermsmeier to discuss the "back to the future" qualities of Merz's political outlook.

Read Lukas' NYT piece on Merz here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/opinion/friedrich-merz-germany-chancellor.html

Follow Lukas here: https://bsky.app/profile/lukashermsmeier.bsky.social

Read one of the scary pieces on Germany and the A-Bomb here: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/deutschland-welt/braucht-deutschland-eigene-atomwaffen-analyse,Ug5NOIk

Watch Merz's retro campaign ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxuJekayt0M&ab_channel=FriedrichMerz

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Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider.

Support us on Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse